http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/ng/sp/afp_photo/20040710/sge.mbc01.100704163712.photo00.default-268x384.jpg
vue générale du court principal du Cercle Tennistique de Rimini sur lequel l'Italienne Silvia Farina Elia (G) et la Française Amélie Mauresmo.
(Wish that France and Italy hadn't been playing each other this weekend :sad: I'd have been cheering for Italy if they had been playing another team!! Sorry Francesca and Sylvia....)

France has to win by 5-0 ! :p My Momo will demolish Schiavone in order to take her revenge of Varsaw loss, and Mary will beat Farina !! And the double french pair will win too ! France is the best nation of the Fed Cup. Niark Niark

Sylvia Farina Elia saved Italy's honour by beating Emilie Loit in the 4th singles, 6/3 2/6, 6/2. The doubles was also won by the Italians Tathiana Garbin and Roberta Vinci, against Tatiana Golovin (who therefore made her debut in Fed Cup) and Mary Pierce (6/0, 7/6). In the course of the doubles Amélie Mauresmo occupied the chair of the captain for the first set..... without success!

Dechy Clinches Victory for FranceNathalie Dechy put France into its second successive Fed Cup final on Thursday, giving her country an unbeatable 3-0 lead by defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues 63 61 in the first of the reverse single matches in the France v Spain semifinal.

It will be France's third Fed Cup final overall, and so far, the nation has always won in the final, lifting the trophy in 1997 and of course last year.

The battle between the nations' No. 1 players started close but the challenge from Medina Garrigues gradually fell away as she was unable to make any impression on Dechy. The athletic Frenchwoman wrapped up victory in one hour eight minutes and was congratulated by captain Guy Forget, her teammates and the travelling French fans afterwards.

As things stand, it looks as if France will play Russia in the final, and what a mouth-watering prospect that will be. The hosts are 2-0 up against Austria overnight, and that semifinal resumes today at 17:00 local time.

"The motivation is going to be there," Dechy said about a potential final against Russia. "A Fed Cup Final is always going to be
very good motivation but they are much stronger on paper, we are the outsiders. They have everything behind them, the stadium, the biggest team, but we will try and make a surprise."

"We have to be strong. We are just going to play our game and be confident. We have to trust ourselves."

The match stayed on level terms until Dechy broke to go 43 ahead in the first set. Medina Garrigues, ranked No. 39, seemed to have raised her game following her loss to Tatiana Golovin on Wednesday, and made the Frenchwoman work for the remainder of the set, forcing her to serve it out for 63.

But after losing her serve in the opening game of the second set, Medina Garrigues, who played with her right knee taped, grew increasingly frustrated. Every time she came up with something and found the open spaces, Dechy did something better. The world No. 21 was simply faster round the court and more accurate with her ground strokes.

With a second break of serve, Dechy opened up a 3-0 lead, and despite Medina Garrigues reclaiming one of the breaks, her opponent romped to victory by winning the next three games. To the delight of the increasingly noisy French contingent, Dechy set up match point with a backhand volley, and converted with a smash.

Dechy is now 8-2 in Fed Cup singles matches and this marks the second time that she has won the decisive point for her country. The first time was in Buenos Aires in April 2002, when her defeat of Mariana Diaz-Oliva in the second reverse singles match gave France a first-round victory over Argentina.

"I'm very happy to have won the point to make us into the final," she said. "It was in the best tradition because we won all the matches in two sets and this is the best preparation for France. We didn't spend too much time on the court."